1. Technical Field
This application relates to a sling for a patient lift of a type which is used to lift and transport patients from one location to another in a hospital or other healthcare facility, and more particularly, to a system and apparatus for protecting such sling from contamination caused by bodily fluids of a patient.
2. Background Art
Patients unable to move on their own were for many years transported within a hospital by means of a mechanical device which supported the patient in a large sheet-like sling. It was common to leave the sling under the patient after the move so that it would be ready for the next move. Since the slings had to be strong enough to support the patient, they were often made of a coarse material such as canvas. Such a material was very uncomfortable for the patient to lay on. The slings also had the disadvantage that they needed to be changed frequently as a result of becoming soiled with body fluids of the patient. The frequent changes of the slings were burdensome for the patient and the staff, and they resulted in considerable expense for the hospital.
In recent years, lifts with so-called "quick-fit" slings have been developed to lift and transport patients. The quick-fit sling includes a back-supporting portion and a bifurcated seat portion. This sling does not have to be placed entirely under the patient, and the sling does not have to stay under the patient once a move is completed. This new sling design promised significant reductions in the number of slings required, by allowing one sling to move with the lift for successive uses by more than one patient. However, it became apparent that the placement of the sling against more than one individual, without interim disinfection, could spread diseases, etc. As a result, the anticipated reductions in slings required were never fully realized. A sling had to be limited to one or a few individuals, and be laundered frequently. Additional slings were necessary to accommodate the laundry cycle, as with the old canvas slings.
The quick-fit sling presented other problems. By necessity, they have a more complex shape than their canvas predecessor, resulting in a corresponding increase in cost (as much as six times more than the canvas slings). In addition, the material from which quick-fit slings are constructed is more fragile than the old canvas slings, and less able to withstand the chemicals and temperature extremes of institutional laundering.
In an effort to reduce incidents of contamination of lifting elements, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,531 to Ilon proposed an elongated plastic cover. The cover is pulled over the entire exterior surface of a lifting element. It is suitable for lifting elements having simple shapes, e.g., rectangular or cylindrical. However, the Ilon cover is wholly inadequate for the complex shapes of the bifurcated quick-fit slings. In addition, the Ilon cover suggests that the entire exterior surface of the lifting element be covered, which is an expensive and unnecessary requirement for bifurcated quick-fit slings. Moreover, when a cover is designed to envelop and fit the entire lifting element, as with the Ilon cover, it becomes more difficult to apply the cover and remove it from the lifting element. If application and removal of the cover is too difficult, the lift operator will be discouraged from using the cover. Also, a cover that is difficult to remove may increase the likelihood of contamination during removal.